Island



QLQMM? (NO MOdGL) W. W. ARMINGTON.

Shaft Lug for Harness.

No. 241,905. Patented May 24,1881.

WITNESSES! INVENTORI UNITED STATEs PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM W. ARMINGTON, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

SHAFT-LUG FOR HARNESS.

SPECIFICATION" forming part of Letters Patent No. 241,905, dated May 24,1881.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM W. ARMING- TON,of the city and county of Providence, State of Rhode Island, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Shaft Lugs for Harness; and Ihereby declare that .the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being bad to the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention has reference to an improvement in that part of theharness for horses by which the shafts of a carriage are supported, 'andwhich is supported by means of a strap from the saddle and held in placeby the girthstrap. Itis known as the shaft lug or loop.

The invention consists in providing at the lower end of the loop aroller so formed and attached as to maintain a curved contour of theloop.

a Figure .l is a perspective view of my improved shaft-lug, showing thebuckle secured to the lug, the strap-loop formed on the lug, the roll onwhich the shaft is supported, and

the loop for securing the girth-strap. Fig. 2

is a side view of the same, shown partly in section. 4

In shaft-lugs as heretofore constructed the shafts rested in the lugs orloops and did not yield freely to the motion of the horse. Theytherefore ehafcd the shaft, caused wear and injury to both the shaft andthe lug or loop, and also strained the straps by which the lugs areconnected with the saddle, as also the girth; and as the lug did notfreely yield to the motion of the horse, the portion of the harnessconnected with the lug was subjected to much greater wear than otherparts and most liable to give way.

The object of this invention is to remedy these defects, and for thispurpose my improved shaft-1n g is provided with a centrally-concavedroll, on which the shaft rests, so that the lug cannot bind 'on theshaft but will freely move Application filed December 6, 1880. (Nomodel.)

on the same and yield to every motion of the horse.

1 In the drawings, a is cast-metal shaft lug or oop.

b is a roll, made of metal or other suitable material, the ends of whichare enlarged, as shown, so that the surface of the roll and the innersides of the loop a will form a continuous curved line. This roll 1)forms the bearing for the shaft.

0 is the loop to which the girth-strap is secured.

(1 is a buckle, secured to the shaft-lug by means of the strap 6, whichis secured by rivets, so that the shaft-1n g and buckle are firmlysecured together.

f is a loop cast on the shaft lug to receive the end of the strap bywhich the shaft-lug is secured to the saddle.

The whole is usually covered by an enamel, or may be plated with nickelor silver, and forms an attractive, durable, and useful device.

I am aware that shaft-lugs have been used in which the shaft-supportingbar has been provided with a rotating sleeve or roller but in such casesthe shaft-supporting bar and roller have been at right angles to thesides of the loop, and the shaft has had a tendency to cramp in thelower corners of the loop. To this construction I make no claim; but,

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- A shaft-lug the shaft-loop of which is providedexteriorly with buckle d and loops f and c, said shaft-loop beingconstructed with interiorly-curved sides, and. having jonrnaled at thebottom a roller, so concaved as to maintain the continuity of the curve.

WILLIAM W. ARMINGION.

Witnesses:

J OSEPH A. MILLER, J. A. MILLER, Jr.

